Information about novel Coronavirus from the World Health Organization (WHO)

IMPA has published examples of best practice together with a letter from Capt. Simon Pelletier, President of IMPA.

The United Kingdom Maritime Pilots' Association (UKMPA) has all been inundated with CV19 communications from all manner of sources in the last few weeks. Here is a condensed collection of information from the UKMPA.

On Monday, March 23, 2020, Admiral Osama Rabie announced the successful transit of the Italian passenger ship COSTA DIADEMA in the northbound convoy through the new Suez Canal, coming from the United Arab Emirates heading to Italy. Special measures were applied, as 65 Coronavirus cases were reported on board which required piloting the vessel remotely through pilotage team boarded on two escorting tugs in full coordination with the transit control offices and navigation monitoring stations in a first of its kind scenario in the history of the Suez Canal.

#MaidenVoyage #HMMalgeciras
The maiden voyage of HMM Algeciras #9-Hamburg: The largest containership in the world, HMM Algeciras, navigates 110km up to the Elbe River to Hamburg's HHLA CTB Terminal on 7 June 2020 - Welcome to Germany!

The pilot at Nagasaki Port fell into the water at around 0530 Tokyo time on 5 May while boarding the cruise ship DIAMOND PRINCESS, which was about to enter Nagasaki.

In the last couple of years several paid as well as free tools have made it easier than ever to access vessels on a map. Although vessels shown on a map have their place, authorities and industry are understanding the greater potential and value of the underlying AIS data.

Occurrence Brief from the ATSB (Australia)

The Pacific Pilotage Authority says: "There is a common misunderstanding amongst vessel operators that vessels built prior to 2012 are exempt from some of the requirements for pilot transfer arrangements. This is incorrect...".

What happens when GNSS fails? In maritime navigation, this isn’t a hypothetical scenario – it’s a growing risk. Spoofing, jamming, and GNSS outages are increasing, especially in the Baltic Sea region. A failure can cripple navigation systems – with potentially serious consequences.

Conversion work is nearly completed of the former Oil Spill Response Vessel OSRV MAINE RESPONDER to a Pilot Station Vessel for Sandy Hook Pilots Association of Staten Island, NY. The conversion work contract was competitively awarded to Feeney Shipyard of Kingston NY.